The Making of a Salafi Muslim Woman by Anabel Inge

But women who wear a garment that annoys their families, that provokes regular verbal abuse and Officials often argue that Muslim women are too submissive to challenge extremist views even within their own families. Inge found that nearly all of the Salafi women she followed in her research decided to wear the face veil against the wishes - sometimes despite the threats of family members, who saw it as too extreme, too Arab, too rebellious. Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, the i-newspaper This is an under-researched subject and so any credible information is very welcome.Īzadeh Moaveni, London Review of Books rich portrait. But for anyone, it is a damn good read.ĭamian Thompson & Christina Odone, The Spectator If you want to understand British Islam, you need to read it.

It could also be read with benefit by feminists and by those with an interest in qualitative methodology.

Obviously enough, this is a book that should be read by anyone concerned about new We learn to see these women as women, facing the challenges of life in a contemporary western society that is not infrequently hostile-especially to women who are assumed to be either aggressively extremist or browbeaten victims of Islamophobia. Inge is both systematically rigorous and sensitively empathic. This ground-breaking, lucid, and richly detailed book will be of vital interest to scholars, policy-makers, journalists, and general readers.Eileen Barker, Nova Religio This is an ethnography of the very best kind. But she also reveals the personal dilemmas they confront. Drawing on more than two years of ethnographic fieldwork in London, she examines why Salafism is attracting so many young Somalis, Afro-Caribbean converts, and others. How do these young women reconcile such difficult demands with their desire for university education, fulfilling careers, and suitable husbands? How do their beliefs affect their love lives and other relationships? And why do they become Salafi in the first place?Īnabel Inge has gained unprecedented access to Salafi womens groups in the United Kingdom to provide the first in-depth account of their lives. Yet in Britain, growing numbers of educated women-often converts or from less conservative Muslim backgrounds-are actively choosing to embrace Salafisms literalist beliefs and strict regulations, including heavy veiling, wifely obedience, and seclusion from non-related men. This view depicts Salafi women as the hapless victims of a fanatical version of Islam. Many see it as a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam that condones the subjugation of women and fuels Jihadist extremism. The spread of Salafism-often referred to as Wahhabism-in the West has intrigued and alarmed observers since the attacks of 9/11.

The Making of a Salafi Muslim Woman by Anabel Inge